Boston University Brandeis University June 11, 2021 Brown University California Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Columbia University Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Cornell University Chair, House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Dartmouth College Duke University 2306 Rayburn House Office Building Emory University Washington, DC 20515 Georgia Institute of Technology Harvard University Indiana University Congressman Frank Lucas Iowa State University Ranking Member, House Committee on Science, Space and Technology The Johns Hopkins University Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2405 Rayburn House Office Building McGill University Washington, DC 20515 Michigan State University New York University Northwestern University Dear Chair Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas, The Ohio State University The Pennsylvania State University Princeton University I write to express the support of the Association of American Universities (AAU) for H.R. Purdue University 2225, the National Science Foundation for the Future Act, a bill which the House Science, Rice University th Rutgers University – New Brunswick Space and Technology Committee is scheduled to consider on June 15 . Stanford University Stony Brook University – State University of New York I am very grateful that, throughout the process, you and your staff have remained open to Texas A&M University input and feedback from AAU and the broad NSF stakeholder community. Draft legislation Tufts University Tulane University was circulated almost a year ago and comments were not only solicited but incorporated University at Buffalo – into the bill as introduced in March of this year. From the start, the Committee has worked State University of New York on a bipartisan basis, and the product reflects the support of a diverse group of Members of The University of Arizona University of California, Berkeley Congress and stakeholders. University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles As additional modifications to the bill are considered by the full Committee, we appreciate University of California, San Diego the opportunity to express our support for and interest in specific provisions of the current University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz legislation. The University of Chicago University of Colorado Boulder University of Florida The strong five-year funding authorization levels recognize the immediate need at NSF for University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign additional funding, followed by sustained and predictable increases. The University of Iowa The University of Kansas University of Maryland, College Park AAU strongly supports the attention provided to graduate education in the legislation. In University of Michigan addition to bolstering graduate scholarships and fellowships, the bill also adopts many University of Minnesota, Twin Cities University of Missouri, Columbia recommendations to help ensure that federal graduate STEM education programs are The University of North Carolina at dynamic and inclusive, and that they continually evolve to prepare a truly innovative Chapel Hill University of Oregon workforce. University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester We share the goals reflected in the bill of increasing research capacity in locations and University of Southern California among personnel historically under-represented in NSF funding. Building sustained research The University of Texas at Austin capacity and partnerships is a complex endeavor that goes beyond formula spending University of Toronto The University of Utah allocations. We look forward to working with you to address these goals as the legislation University of Virginia advances. University of Washington The University of Wisconsin - Madison Vanderbilt University As you know, the Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260), which began as an authorization bill for NSF, Washington University in St. Louis Yale University was recently amended and approved by the full Senate. While AAU is also supportive of the base legislation, we were discouraged to see the volume of extraneous provisions attached to the legislation. Many of these measures do not impact the university community; however, several duplicative and restrictive research security proposals were included without sufficient input on the potential adverse impacts of these provisions on U.S. scientific research. Consequently, we believe it is important to register our great appreciation for the collaborative approach the Committee has taken with the overall bill and specifically with the research integrity and security provisions of H.R. 2225. As you work through research integrity and security provisions, we encourage you to continue to employ policies that use a risk-based approach and do not impose requirements that impede research and innovation.

Finally, AAU supports the creation of the Directorate for Science and Engineering Solutions (SES) and its mission of supporting use-inspired research and commercialization efforts. As various ideas about how to approach a new entity at NSF for technology innovation have been considered in recent years, AAU has consistently supported the idea that NSF should be open to big and bold ideas and to experimenting with its own structure and funding mechanisms. AAU believes there is shared recognition on both sides of the aisle and across our nation that the United States should continue to be the world’s leader in scientific innovation. To achieve that goal, Congress must provide the seed corn in federal funding to ensure research partnerships across the nation that help turn ideas into technologies that will solve our grandest global challenges. We commend the Committee for its careful development of the Directorate for SES and encourage you to continue to refine the legislative language to ensure appropriate flexibility and adequate funding.

Again, we thank you for the work you have put in producing this very strong and important legislation and support the Committee’s efforts to reauthorize NSF in a bipartisan manner. We look forward to working with you as this bill continues to advance through the legislative process.

Sincerely,

Barbara R. Snyder President, Association of American Universities